welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories. it's now a record—breaking category five storm. the caribbean islands make final preparations before hurricane irma hits. growing protests as president trump scraps a scheme protecting undocumented child migrants from deportation. more than 35,000 rohingya refugees flee myanmar in a single day. the un warns of a humanitarian disaster in neighbouring bangladesh. a french celebrity magazine is ordered to pay damages to the duke and duchess of cambridge as they win their privacy battle over topless photos. i will start in los angeles and go all the way through colorado. and meet the endurance runner aiming to become the fastest woman to run across america. hello.

hurricane irma has strengthened to a category 5 storm, the highest possible level, and has in its path a string of caribbean islands, puerto rico, haiti, cuba, and then florida. the national hurricane centre in miami is recording sustained winds of nearly 300 kilometres, more than 186 miles an hour. a state of emergency has been declared in florida, puerto rico and the us virgin islands. sarah corker has the latest on preparations for the most powerful atlantic storm in a decade. this is the view of hurricane irma from space. it's expected to be one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the atlantic basin. images released by nasa show it's heading towards several caribbean islands, bringing with it 185 mph winds and torrential rain. puerto rico will be one

of the first to be hit. people there aren't taking any chances, securing their homes and stocking up on essentials. hurricane irma is on a collision course with popular holiday destinations like antigua and st martin. with storm surges up to 12 feet, flooding is a major concern. in the dominican republic, the rains have already arrived. the tourist island, like its neighbour, haiti, has issued hurricane warnings. and in florida, a state of emergency has been declared. the storm is massive and the storm surge predicted will go for miles and miles. right now hurricane irma is travelling at around 15 mph and the track has it forecasted to move just south of the florida keys on a westerly path with a slight north turn. it's incredibly important that all floridians keep a close eye on this incredibly dangerous storm. do not sit and wait

to prepare, get prepared now. the storm's track may change, but at the moment it looks set to head towards the british virgin islands, puerto rico, cuba, and by the weekend, the florida keys. this monster hurricane comes on the heels of harvey, who, which struck texas and louisiana last month, but irma is a bigger storm and potentially more dangerous. in miami they're preparing for the worst. i've lived through hurricane andrew in miami, hurricane katrina, hurricane wilma and i have faith in god. these pictures show conditions inside the hurricane to help predict its root. now millions of people across the caribbean are preparing for this potentially catastrophic storm. sarah corker, bbc news. let's get more on the expected track of hurricane irma. here's stav danaos from the bbc weather centre.

the caribbean is bracing itself for one of the strongest hurricanes ever to develop in the atlantic. hurricane urma became a powerful category five storm late on tuesday and it's continuing itsjourney westwards during wednesday. could be some devastation to the leeward islands, and it continues to move westards in towards haiti, dominican republic and eventually towards cuba by thursday and friday. this storm really means business, it's an extremely dangerous storm that will maintain its strength for the next few days. sustained wind speeds of 185mph, gusting over 200mph, some torrential rain and a significant storm surge that could lead to some severe coastal flooding so this storm really means business. it's an ongoing story and we'll keep you updated. 0n the line is pippa holman, who is on holiday on antigua and had to board up her holiday home in preparation for hurricane irma. you have had to take some prepper

wrote —— preparations. you have had to take some prepper wrote -- preparations. we have boarded up. it is 6pm local time. we have been waiting for a few days for the storm to hit. we have done our best getting prepared and boarding up best getting prepared and boarding up windows. we think it will hit ha rd up windows. we think it will hit hard in an hour's time and it will be intense and potentially dangerous. what have you been told to expect? we got information from locals. we have been following on line reports nationally and internationally as we can. advice

has come from locals, which is helpful. they have seen a fair few amount of hurricanes in their time. they said this one will be especially strong. it is scary for us on especially strong. it is scary for us on holiday and for all of the locals. i guess it was an option for the locals. you were told you could get a refund. the locals. you were told you could geta refund. did the locals. you were told you could get a refund. did you take up that option? we didn't hear about it until too late. we are hopeful along with many people here that the hurricane will go north. we are close to the eye of the storm. we we re close to the eye of the storm. we were hopeful it would not be as bad. if we had none, we might have taken different action. but we are in it

and we are ready to ride it out. strong rainfall and wind expected. absolutely. there have been a few short showers. we can hear the wind whipping around the building. we are elevated a bit. we are on a hill. but we are exposed to the wind. we will take shelter in some rooms in the house. pippa, all the very best. take care. thank you for your time. goodbye. much more on that on the bbc website anytime for you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the russian president has dismissed the idea of imposing new sanctions on north korea because of its recent nuclear test. vladimir putin also warned that

what he called the military hysteria over north korea could lead to global catastrophe and heavy loss of life. the north koreans remain defiant. syrian government forces have broken a long—running siege of deir al—zour by so—called islamic state. the city and its surrounding province is the last major territory in syria still mostly controlled by the militants. an estimated 93,000 civilians have been trapped in the area since 2015. they have depended on military relief flights and un air drops. five men, including four serving british soldiers, have been arrested as part of an investigation into a neo—nazi group. national action was banned by the government last december for "promoting violence and acts of terrorism" in the wake of the murder ofjo cox, the mp who was killed by a white supremacist. researchers in the united states have found that the zika virus, which causes birth defects in babies, could be used to fight the most common form of brain cancer in adults. early studies on mice show

that the virus targets brain cancer stem cells, preventing tumours from recurring. the virus does not appear to affect healthy adult brain cells. the trump administration is ending legal protection for immigrant children brought into the us unlawfully by their parents. barack 0bama's daca policy gave legal status to almost 800,000 young people, often known as dreamers. today he called president trump's decision cruel and wrong. aleem maqbool reports. anger at what's seen as the white house once again being anti—immigrant. its decision affects those brought to this country illegally as children, who under president 0bama were offered an amnesty. the us attorney general announced it's been scrapped. the effect of this unilateral executive amnesty, among other things, contributed to a surge of minors at the southern border which yielded terrible humanitarian consequences. it also denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs.

ximena is one of the hundreds of thousands affected, now fearful she'll lose her job and ultimately be deported. it's tough. it's tough to think that as a young adult you've given a lot to a country and that you love a country so much and you feel like you've earned something and they take that away from you. and jesus, a paramedic who's been working to help the victims of the flooding in houston, is another who has had his life turned upside down by this decision. entire lives are here. there's nothing that's back in our countries. i haven't been back to mexico since i was six, so to be sent back to mexico, i wouldn't know what to do, i wouldn't know where to go.

the president says it's been a tough decision. i will terminate this a legal order on immigration from barack 0bama. i have a great heart for the folks we're talking about, a great love for them. i love these kids, i love kids. in the end, after mr trump dithered, those on the right forced his hand, to the disappointment of those now protesting. this is an excuse by the donald trump presidency to attack immigrants. he is playing to the right wing base. people here may be outraged, but they won't be surprised. this after all was one of president trump's election promises and there will be millions of his supporters who are today celebrating

and others who even feel he needs to go much further. the president's given congress six months to come up with an arrangement that could soften the blow. but for so many who've been contributing to american society for years, there's already a sense they've been cast out. aleem maqbool, bbc news, washington. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we meet the british endurance runner aiming to become the fastest woman to run across america. she received the nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was a wonderful example of how to help people in need. we have to identify the bodies, then arrange the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting and wives are waiting. hostages appeared, some carried, some running, trying to escape the nightmare behind them.

britain lost a princess today, described by all to whom she reached out as irreplaceable. an early—morning car crash in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain and courage, warmth and compassion. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: caribbean islands are making final preparations before the record—breaking hurricane irma makes landfall. growing protests as president trump scraps a scheme protecting undocumented child migrants from deportation. let's get more now on our top story.

0n the line is kathy—ann caesar, chief meteorologist for the caribbean institute for meteorology and hydrology. good to talk to you, you must be a very busy woman, thanks for your time. thank you very much. how bad is this looking to you? very catastrophic. we are extremely concerned for our colleagues in the island of antigua, barbuda and much of the northern caribbean islands. with someone of your experience says very catastrophic, that sounds bad, how is it going to be on the ground? right now we are expecting wins in excess right now we are expecting wins in excess of 185 mph —— wins. that is againa excess of 185 mph —— wins. that is again a category five storm, extremely strong for this area and we haven't had a storm in the

atla ntic we haven't had a storm in the atlantic since wilma in 2005. so it's been quite a time since that storm has happened. we have some... we have had some indication that this is going to be a very catastrophic storm, especially with the storm surge. we expect the storm surge to be in the vicinity of ten metres... wave height of ten metres and storm surge of five metres. you are looking at something that's going to be very dangerous when you have high winds, rainfall and wave heights. quite a few of the islands in its path are pretty flat, abe? we are being told, kathy—ann, that right behind irma is tropical storm jose in the atlantic and expected to become a hurricane itself in a day

and a half? by sunday we expect it to be over the same islands. we are hoping the model will shift, but right now the latest projection is for it to have in its path or the cone of uncertainty as we say some of the same islands affected by irma. kathy-ann, i saw one of your collea g u es irma. kathy-ann, i saw one of your colleagues saying he was looking at this charts, this was on social media, and he was lost for words looking at irma and then he found some words and said it was a storm worthy of saturn orjupiter. some words and said it was a storm worthy of saturn orjupiter. yes. if you look at the extent of it, it may cover most of florida in its diameter right now. that is just a humongous storm. we aren'tjust looking at the eye of the storm, some of the islands in the south, fortu nately some of the islands in the south, fortunately there are no islands to

the north of where the most dangerous conditions are expected but many of the islands to the south, such as antigua and barbuda, even as far as dominica, they could feel the effects of the storm. kathy—ann caesar, thank you very much. you are most welcome. aid agencies are warning of a humanitarian crisis in bangladesh after a dramatic increase in the number of rohingya muslims fleeing neighbouring myanmar. fighting in the state of rakhine has left hundreds dead. 123,000 people have sought refuge in the last 11 days. 0ur correspondent sanjoy majumder is on the myanmar bangladesh border and has this report from cox's bazaar. desperation is what is driving the rohingya refugees, and bangladesh, which has taken them in, is being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers that are surging in. so a truck's just backed up now to take all of these refugees to the nearest relief camp, and you can just see the chaos as they're all desperate to get on board.

it's a chance for them to get somewhere where they'll be safe, where they can rest. we're getting a sense now that things are slowly spinning out of control. soldiers try to bring in a sense of order, but the refugees are weak, dehydrated and disorientated after days on the road. the rohingyas are often described as the world's most persecuted minority. ethnic muslims and buddhist—majority myanmar have been denied citizenship, despite living there for centuries. now they've been driven out. their villages have been burnt, hundreds killed in waves of religious violence. translation: people are either being shot or burnt alive in their homes. we had to flee for our lives. they're making sure there are no muslims left there. so they fled, carrying with them whatever they could salvage from their wrecked homes.

local volunteers meet them as they arrive, handing out packets of cooked rice and meat, their first proper meal in days. but with so many refugees coming in, space is running out. existing camps are stretched beyond capacity. new ones are being built by the hour, open fields and hilltops have now become vast settlements. but the conditions are basic. this pit, filled with rain, serving as the camps water supply. bangladesh is one of the world's most densely—populated nations, now it has to somehow find space for all the rohingyas who are pouring in. sanjoy majumder, bbc news, cox's bazar. police are investigating what they

say is evidence of vote buying to secure rio's bid. a row over how much money britain will play the eu when it leaves will go on until brexit talks end in 2019, so says the brexit minister david davis, as he briefed mps at the start of a new session of parliament. he said the talks had been tough and confrontational. 0ne one of colombia's most dangerous drug gangs said it is willing to submit tojustice. drug gangs said it is willing to submit to justice. the drug gangs said it is willing to submit tojustice. the president said the gang has been hard hit in the past few months and 1500 members have been arrested and its second—in—command has died. a french magazine has been ordered to pay almost $120,000 in damages for publishing topless photographs of the duchess of cambridge. the pictures were taken with a long lens during a private holiday in provence, almost five years ago. 0ur paris correspondent, lucy williamson, was in court. 0n

on one side of the channel today there was barely a front page without her, the duchess of cambridge expecting her third child. her private life a calls for media interest, national comment, public celebration, but when does interest become intrusion? in the paris suburbs today judges become intrusion? in the paris suburbs todayjudges ruled french celebrity magazine closer did invade her privacy by publishing topless photos of the duchess while on holiday. the magazine editor and chief executive were each fined 45,000 chief executive were each fined 115,000 euros, the maximum penalty said the royals' lawyer. translation: is that unusual? yes absolutely. the royal couple were also awarded 100,000 euros in damages, a high figure for france but far smaller than the 1.5 million euros requested by the couple. the lawyer for closer described the

amount requested as extravagant and said the private lives of the royal family were a matter of public interest. translation: the photos showed a couple in love and i'll remind you that in the case of the duke's parents, we were led to believe they adored each other by being given official photographs and it wasn't the reality. here at least the photos aren't offensive and show that they love each other. it in the public interest to know that. the duke of cambridge stakes clandestinely the photographs had been taken had been particularly shocking and all the more painful given the way his mother, diana, had died in paris, pursued by paparazzi. ina died in paris, pursued by paparazzi. in a statement after today's ruling, kensington palace described the photographs as: last week william went to view

tributes laid to princess diana on the 20th anniversary of her death. having watched the media make both hero and hostage of his mother, the duke of seems determined to stop the same thing happening to his wife. lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. mimi anderson began running in her late 30s to help her overcome anorexia and since then she's gone on to become one of the top endurance runners in the world breaking records wherever she goes. now she's preparing for her biggest challenge so far, to become the fastest woman to run across america. sophie raworth went to meet her. for the next 7.5 weeks, mimi anderson will be running at least 55 miles every single day as she makes her way from la to new york. it's taken years of planning and a lot of training. my run will start from los angeles and it will go all the way through colorado. she'll pass through 12 states in all as she tries to break the women's coast to coast record set in 1979. 2,850 miles in total, that's a long way.

here are all your medals, what a haul. i have to say i'm quite proud of them actually. but mimi is used to cover challenges. she took up running in her mid—30s and since then has conquered some of the hardest endurance races in the world. this one here, the marathon des sables, which is 250 kilometres over six days in the sahara desert was my very first race in 2001, nearly died doing it but i loved it, that was fantastic. the arctic race is called 6633 extreme ultra marathon, 350 miles non—stop over eight days in temperatures as low as —40 and i actually won that race overall, male and female. and i came i think in 2a hours ahead of the only other person who finished. but running across america is her toughest challenge yet. what drives you to do this? i love the challenge, i love the thought of me physically and mentally, because that plays a big part, of actually being able to run the distances that i do.

to power her to a new world record she's relying on a lot of coffee, ten pairs of running shoes and a support crew, including her husband, friends and a physio. she's already dreaming of the finish line. when i get to the steps of new york city hall i'll crawl up those steps. those steps, i'm just going to love them and i'll get down on my knees and i'll kiss them if necessary. that was mimi anderson talking to sophie raworth, and the greatjourney across america starts on thursday. much more on that and much more on all the news any time on the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thanks for watching. good morning.

hot on the heels of hurricane harvey comes irma, and this has the potential to be a catastrophic hurricane. already a category 5, we have sustained winds of 185mph, potentially gusting to 220mph. you can see quite clearly the eye of the storm here on the satellite picture. it's notjust the strength of the winds and the volume of the rain, it's also a significant storm surge that's heading towards the leeward isles. the storm surge is where, underneath this area of low pressure, it literally lifts the surface of the sea by as much as 9—11 feet, descending across these caribbean islands. so certainly we'll need to keep you updated on developments of that storm. back closer to home, things are a little quieter. we have got more of a westerly direction to the source of our air now, that means so slightly fresher and it does mean that first thing in a morning we could actually see temperatures into single figures in more rural spots.

so it will be a chilly start but potentially a dry one, with some sunshine coming through. there will be a scattering of showers into the far north—west with more of a significant breeze here. but the rest of the sheltered south—eastern area should see some sunshine and, as a consequence, we should get some warmth as well. highest values possibly up to 20 degrees, as opposed to 1a to 17 further north and west. now, as we move out of wednesday, into thursday, the winds will strengthen again, and we will see more significant rain. an area of low pressure will move in from the atlantic. it is going to bring heavy rain to scotland and northern ireland, eventually moving through the borders into the north of england and north wales. further south of that, it's a drier story, but it does mean a pretty disappointing day on thursday afternoon in scotland. underneath the cloud, with wind and the rain, 13—15 degrees at the very best. some of the rain quite heavy close to the lake district, and stretching over the higher ground of wales. sheltered eastern areas should cling on to some sunshine and, if this happens, we could see

19—20 degrees perhaps, across the southeast through london. then further west, with more of a fresher westerly breeze, a little more cloud and a slightly fresher feel. with that low pressure, with its front, sweeps south and east, during thursday night, into friday. it takes a spell of significant rain with it as well. wrapped around that low, there will be some squally showers. so some rain to come for england and wales, for a time. some of the showers heavy, with some hail and some thunder into the far north—west. and temperatures, again, pretty disappointing. i can offer you something a little better as we move into the start of the weekend. drier through england and wales with a scattering of showers into the far north—west. take care. this is bbc news. the headlines. 0fficials across the caribbean have ordered people to prepare for one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the atlantic. hurricane irma is now an extremely dangerous category five storm, with winds of nearly 300 kilometres an hour. it's currently heading for the virgin islands and puerto rico. there have been protests in cities across america after donald trump scraped a scheme protecting

undocumented child migrants from deportation. the president says he's hopeful the us congress will find the right long—term solution. his predecessor, barack 0bama, has called the decision "cruel and wrong." the united nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis in bangladesh after a dramatic increase in the number of rohingya muslims fleeing neighbouring myanmar. fighting in the state of rakhine has left hundreds dead. aid agencies say more than 35,000 refugees fled in a single day. nicola sturgeon has